www.iva.co.uk

Hi,

Thought i'd share my tips/learning etc from trying to rent for those who may have to go through the same during their IVA

Basically..we were very open with every letting agent from the start..if we saw a house we liked we phoned that agent and informed them of our situation before even viewing the house. That way if they said no, we weren't too disheartened
Once we'd found an agent that was helpful and we found a property again we were completely honest. We told them everything! Once they'd got approval from the landlord (apparently they have to check she was happy with it) we started the referencing process.
We had to involve my mom too as they didnt think having her as a guarantor would work so technically she's on the tenancy agreement albeit not living there.
We had to supply mortgage statements, work references, the usual to prove who we were and to make sure we'd had large expenditure before. We also had to tell the agent all the details of the IVA. I think because they are new to letting they wanted to cover everything so some agents may work slightly differently
We've also had to agree to paying an extra £135 on the first months rent. Apparently this is for insurance the landlady will have to take out. Having done a google search I can only assume its 'rent guarantee' insurance just in case we dont pay!
So..eventually we've found a home. It's been a bit of a worrying time waiting for it all to go through but apart from having a patronising agent who seems to think we're stupid or something it seems to have all gone through nicely!
I understand it's a risk for the landlady but as many of you have said before, we're actually in a better position than others..we cant get ourselves further into debt and we've taken action to get ourselves out of it.
I'm hoping we can form a good relationship with the landlady and she'll see that we are not bad people, we just made a few mistakes! At least we've recognised our mistakes and are learning from them!
Sorry for the super long post..[;)] x

I surprised you had to go through all that.

We had to move about a year and a half ago from one rented property to another (needed a bigger house due to a new baby)

The landlord we were with knew nothing of the IVA, nor did he need to as the rent was paid on time each month.

We found our ideal house through an agency, we asked them at the time if my husbands IVA would affect our chances with the credit checks and we were told not to worry as all they check for are CCJs and bankrupcy. We had no problems at all - checks went through fine and we've been here nearly 2 years now.

Maybe it differs between agencies and areas?

I wish ours was that easy Seventh!! I'm not sure if it was because of the agent as they've only been doing lettings for a short time? Also, think the landlady wasnt too sure on the ins and outs and therefore asked for loads of information! I'm hoping now its all sorted we wont have to go through it again for a good while.
Just hope we're not treated differently because of it once we're in! The letting agent was quite patronising at times. I felt like telling her I'm 31 not 12 but don't think that would have helped secure a house!! x

I'm glad you're sorted vimto but that was a lot of hoops to jump through!!

I think it does depend on the landlord or agencies.

Thanks Jan, me too! It's been a stressful few weeks!!
Just need everyone to pray it doesnt rain next Thursday/Friday now! Oh and if anyone knows of any packing fairies please send them my way [;)] x

Fingers crossed for the weather - can't help with the fairies though!!

Thats a really great post Vimto - to help others have confidence about renting and what to possible expect. Really pleased for you that you have foudn a home and at least you can be secure in the knowledge that everything is out on the table - you will be far more secure tenants than many others so your landlady should feel happy.

Best wishes with your move - I rallied round the fairy troops in my village to help me move (but it was only over the road) so can't help you I'm afraid but hope you get good weather to make it easier to deal with!

So pleased it's working out for you. Although you had to go through a lot of 'red tape' at least you got the right result in the end.

Hope the fairies turn up for you to help with the packing.

Pleased to hear that some people are having a better time renting I too was up front with the agency but failed the credit check (as we are still waiting for cc even tho we did a F&F in july 2011 )we still have to pay 6 mths up front to stay in our rented house

I'm glad you got the result in the end, shows it's possible no matter what our situation and your post will give hope to others.